Blog

Full Year 2012

America’s Youth Fitness Test Gets a Makeover

Physical Activity, President's Challenge, Youth | September, 11 2012

By: Dr. Jayne Greenberg, district director of physical education and health literacy for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Fla.) and President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Council Member

More than two decades after its last update, the physical fitness test many of us did in school is getting a makeover. Just in time for the new school year, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) announced that the former Physical Fitness Test is now the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, and that it will focus primarily on assessing health versus athleticism for America’s youth.

Help America’s Youth Get Healthy During National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Fitness | August, 31 2012

By: Drew Brees, NFL Quarterback and Co-Chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and it also marks the start of the new school year for kids across America. The President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition is ramping up its efforts to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity and good nutrition, and is challenging each of us to help America's youth lead a healthier lifestyle.

Welcome to the New Fitness.gov!

Fitness | August, 30 2012

By: Shellie Pfohl, PCFSN Executive Director

We’re excited to share our completely redesigned website with you that provides more information than ever before about how people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities can lead an active, healthy lifestyle.

The Pandemic of Physical Inactivity

Physical Inactivity | August, 29 2012

By: Harold W. (Bill) Kohl, III, Ph.D., PCFSN Science Board Member

An extraordinary collection of papers on physical activity and public health was published last month in The Lancet . A landmark paper , which the lead author blogged about in July, made a compelling case that physical inactivity is a risk factor that is as critical in causing major chronic diseases as smoking. The papers covered the most current worldwide information on physical inactivity including prevalence and trends , determinants , effective strategies that promote physical activity, and the influence of societal trends. The final paper, positioning physical inactivity as a pandemic, is a Call to Action for making physical activity a public health priority.

The Global Impact of Physical Inactivity

Nutrition, PALA, Physical Activity, Physical Inactivity, Research, Science Board | July, 25 2012

By: I-Min Lee, PCFSN Science Board Member

With the summer Olympic Games coming up, a group of 33 researchers from 16 countries worldwide felt this was a good opportunity to call the attention of the world to the public health problem of physical inactivity. Since physical activity has so many health benefits, it is concerning that only about one-third of the world’s population is physically active.

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